How It Should Have Been
by zestychicken2
Summary: "Why would you go so far for me?" "Because I've never had a bond like this…" Maybe if things had been different when they were younger… Sasuke would have never left Naruto when they were older…


**How It Should Have Been**

"**Why would you go so far for me?" "Because I've never had a bond like this…" Maybe if things had been different when they were younger… Sasuke would have never left Naruto when they were older…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters**

Sasuke had done it… He had beaten his best friend. He could finally get what he wanted…

As the sun began to evaporate into the air, the grey clouds rolling in thickly, the air became cold. The temperature seemed to drop as a breeze picked up. The raven haired ninja took in a deep breath, almost in disbelief.

The power that he had shown… The power that kept Naruto from sheer death; Sasuke was sure that he wouldn't win, and yet here he stood.

As the last rays of sun showed on the blonde ninja's face, Sasuke studied his calm features. It was as tough he was sleeping, in a deep unconsciousness that engulfed him to the point that would be so simple to kill him. It's what he needed to do after all.

"Naruto…" He began, watching his best friend's face show nothing more than it had a few seconds ago.

The clouds extracted the rays of sun from the pale face, and Sasuke's eyes were deprived of the light. "I'm…" he tried to force out what he willed to say to the insensible being, but to no avail.

Rain began to drip down onto the worn stone below them. Sasuke looked up as drops began to hit the ground at such a speed they ricocheted of the ground, exploding into smaller drops that soaked into the ground. His dark eyes squinted due to the liquid crashing lightly into them.

The rain: it reminded him of a mission from such a long time ago. Lightning had struck a tree, and fire ripped down it's not yet wet branches, spreading on the dry ground due to drought in the area. The flames licked at the dripping sky, bright colors blazing high, the sizzle hardly noticeable as the rain warmed to almost a boil before it hit the flare. Sasuke, so entranced by the glow, hadn't seen a tree's branch plummet to the ground.

He was its victim as its sharp twigs snagged into the skin of his leg as he leaned away from the heat. A blood-curdling scream ripping from his lungs, he collapsed to the ground, now crimson hands clutching the wound as best he could. His leg was caught under the heavy branch, a sickening snap filling the air, causing the air to leave his lungs.

Tough he had endured a lot of pain in his life, nothing did this instance justice. He could feel his eyes roll to the back of his head, and he had to force himself to stay awake. Through the trees shot Naruto, his mind flaring with a worry greater than his enthusiastic, and yet rather annoying personality.

Like a wild animal, the ninja exploded from singed leaves and bark, landing at Sasuke's side. Sakura and Kakashi were left in the dust with the boy's stamina, as Naruto kicked and battered the branch until it just about broke in half. Sasuke saw how much he cared, and it touched him as much as it could, for most things were shoved violently out of his mind from the pain. His sleeves were ripped off, in an attempt to stop the bleeding, and a lot of ointment was being used. But nevertheless, Sasuke was saved.

Breaking through the boy's reverie, pain rippled through his shoulder, as his pale hand was brought up to clutch his shoulder, fingers digging into his skin to stop the circulation flow. He grunted and screamed, which morphed into a cough as he fell to his knees, the joint slamming into the soaking rock, before his hands had to catch his fall.

After he opened his eyes, he came face to face with the very boy he tried to kill. As he watched him, many things flew through his mind. Perhaps… Just maybe, when they were young… If Naruto and Sasuke had gotten along, and if their pride wasn't so strong, even at that age things would be different.

There would have been no desire to even leave the village, perhaps if he had had Naruto. Watching the still motionless face brought Sasuke back to many times he suffered, and many more times he watched the boy suffer while wallowing in his own pain, too jealous that perhaps someone hurting as much as he could be happy, to help.

Maybe they could have been friends, and things wouldn't have gone as far as the victorious ninja hesitating on killing his best friend.

??

That sunset, the blazing colors painted across the sky with a rosy pink and a lavender purple soaking into a night sky behind him, it played on the water like a ballet. The water showed ripples that brought the picture to life.

It would have been beautiful had seven-year-old Sasuke hadn't been suffering. He closed his eyes, only to have visions of the death of his whole clan flash through his mind. Eyes shooting open, he decided to simply stare at the water.

--

The dirt road: it was boring, always the same color. The only interesting thing about it was the change of hue, a tint to basic to a shade as the clock ticked. In the morning, it was a light mocha color, and had it not been dirt, would perhaps be sparkling with a radiance it was deprived of because of texture and where it was placed. Midday, the sun dispatched all shadows, chomping down all places to hide out from the rays, giving the dirt a normal color. It was simple and solid, no extra of anything added to it. And at night the color seemed to darken. It became a rich color, and when the stars sparkled in the sky, it almost twinkled – the radiance it was stripped of perhaps being stolen back, if not for a long time, a short amount of time in hopes of someone seeing it.

That was Naruto. He had no where to go, no one to see… He had to try and think positively, though it was almost impossible to do. The boy had no friends, and no family, and there just seemed to be absolutely no one to depend on, or no one to depend on him. Maybe that's why he wanted to become a ninja so bad. People depended on him, and he could in trust something in them, and they would do it – if not for him, for the mission at hand.

Maybe that twinkle… The underdog dirt in the road – maybe he could relate to that better than anything else in the world. It had its time to shine… Maybe not very often, and sometimes not very bright, other times absolutely no one would see it, but there would be that moment, and that's what made him smile.

When he looked up, he saw the beautiful scene playing on the water. He also saw the oak dock, housing a small figure. It was Sasuke. He had heard what had happened, and that made him sad. For someone to suffer that much – no one should have had to… Not in the past, surely not in the present, and definitely not in the future. But seeing someone else – as alone and broken as him… It made him relieved. He knew there were people like that in the world then… He knew he was not alone.

He wanted so bad to be friends with Sasuke – to be able to be someone people could depend on, even though he was not the most appealing to lean against. Much like the dirt road – it gave guidance and a clear path, but everyone took advantage of it.

--

Sasuke could feel eyes piercing into him. There must have been a lot of thought behind it, and that made him uncomfortable. His plan was to let the rays reflect off of his dark orbs, but he couldn't with such a gaze branded into him.

Slowly turning, a glare set on his face, though he did not feel it in his heart to be angry at whoever paid any sort of attention to him, he saw who it was. Naruto stood there, his sapphire eyes blazing with an orange reflection, watching him with a curious expression.

He waited for his glare to take place, and watch Naruto's face scrunch up in irritation, as he would turn and march away. But it did not do that. Surprise overtook the scowl engraved on the pale face, when a smile managed to dance upon the blonde's lips.

A hand was pulled out of his pocket, and slowly, not to mention hesitantly, raised into the air. They both were stone still for a moment, seemingly waiting to see what would happen in the moments to pass, before the older ninja's arm began to wave sluggishly back and forth.

"Hey!" It was released with such a strange enthusiasm to talk to him, that it made Sasuke almost jump back in shock.

When there was no answer, the blonde debated simply running away, but he wouldn't give up. Sucking in a breath, he stepped onto the long grass, and slowly broke free of the dirt road.

It gave its guidance sure, and it was a thing Naruto could relate to, but he needed to find guidance within himself, and he hoped he could relate to others. And so, while they both would have a sparse moment in time to shine, and perhaps be more appreciated and respected further into the future, Naruto made his own path… he realized that while he could depend on people, he couldn't depend on the road to help him. Not forever anyways… This was taking a chance – something he had to do.

Sasuke's eyes shifted back and forth, wondering if perhaps, by some fluke, there was another person trying to talk to him. He stood slowly, to signal to the boy that he was receiving the message wrong, but there was no halt in his step.

The older boy, though with limited confidence, stopped in front of Sasuke.

"You're Sasuke, right?" He let a grin onto his face as he squinted his eyes against the reflection of the sun. "What are you doing out here, all by yourself?" He questioned in a light tone.

That amazed Sasuke. The first person who chose not to bring up his slaughtered family – his endangered clan was Naruto, who seemed to have no relationships with anyone. The first person to not take pity on him from afar was someone he would have never expected.

"Yeah…" He spoke in a small voice, a certain shyness peeking out, "Naruto, huh?"

The boy gave an over-exaggerated nod, "Yup! That's me! You're looking at the future Hokage!"

Sasuke found it far fetched… But then again, he had just said not even a month ago that he wanted to be the head of the most elite police force in the whole village… He couldn't laugh. It brought up happier memories than the ones made as of late, and it seemed to lift weight off of his shoulders.

"Say…" Naruto started, shattering his thin trance, "How about we go get a bowl of ramen?"

"Ramen?" Sasuke questioned, never hearing of such an odd request out of him in his whole life.

"Yeah! I know a place to get the best stuff in the whole village!" Without thinking much about it, Naruto snatched up Sasuke's hand, tugging him away from his beautiful picture, tied with agonizing memories, as they ran along the grass.

It was the start of something very interesting… Something that would change the course of a future that would have been really rough.

??

Sasuke's eyes shifted as he looked down at the figure. The rain thudded against his back, and washed his blood down the rock. Thinking of a different scenario of how things went down after the whole incident made him wonder just how much life could have been different.

??

"Hey there's that boy… I heard he was the only one who didn't pass…"

"Shhh – we aren't supposed to talk about that…" The girl with the bow mumbled, eyes narrowing as she hushed her friend.

"You shouldn't be talking about him anyways… It's rude…" The two girls turned to see a nonchalant boy glaring at them. Nervousness erupted from their insides, causing their whole internal body to twist.

"Sasuke!" They both cooed, "We weren't saying anything bad! Honest!" They almost both spoke in unison.

_Cute…_ Sasuke thought, rolling his eyes, and pushing past them, shuffling over to where the boy sat on the swing.

"Didn't pass huh?"

"Pull the worst jutsu on me! I really wanted to pass this time!"

"You'll pass with a little more practice is all. Maybe Iruka will give you a break if you show him in a few days?"

Naruto looked up at his best friend – his _only_ friend. It was ironic that the most popular guy, though best friends with the nobody, still didn't rub off on him, and allow Naruto some other friends.

"You think?"

"Naruto!" It was not Sasuke who called out to him; it was Mesuki. The raven haired now-ninja nodded for him to go, and Naruto ran off.

"Naruto!" this time it was Sasuke; the blonde turned in confusion, "How about some ramen later? To celebrate our success?"

"What kind of success do I get?" He questioned, narrowing his eyes.

"For being the biggest loser at the academy," Sasuke smiled to show it was playful, even if it might have been true. Naruto knew this, and smirked, waving, then turning on his heels to go speak with his Sensei.

??

"Squad Seven… Naruto Uzamaki," the blonde looked up from his staring contest with Sasuke, trying to pay attention, "Sakura Haruno –"

"Score!" Naruto stood up, beaming with delight; the pretty girl sitting next to Sasuke sunk in her seat.

"And Sasuke Uchiha…"

Sakura jumped up, a delighted squeal escaping her lips as she turned to look at Sasuke with glee; she would be on the same team as her true love. But when she looked over, she already saw Sasuke and Naruto high fiving. It was as though he didn't notice her. Sinking into her seat, she still felt triumph, and turned around to rub it in Ino's face – Naruto couldn't be that bad. Maybe she could get some pointers on how exactly to get Sasuke to like her…

??

"Sasuke, are you okay?" Naruto asked, bending down to examine Sasuke's fallen form after his fight with Rock Lee.

The raven haired Genin winced, but otherwise sat up. Though the pain was intense in his stomach and arm, his eyes fuzzy from his Sharingan being overpowered by _too_ quick of movement, he didn't want to worry the ninja. "I'm fine…"

"Are you sure? Maybe we should take a rest before we go to the exams…" Sakura suggested.

"Are you kidding? Sasuke will suck it up!" Naruto seemed to read the ninja's mind at times such as those… it made him laugh.

??

"Sakura… Don't you dare think about telling them about this, you hear?" Sasuke snapped, his hand clasped over his shoulder.

"Sasuke, you're kind of irritable… Don't bite her head off, okay?"

"I'm not going to be taken out of this fight, Naruto… You know as well as I –"

"Yeah, yeah…" He scoffed, though the younger ninja didn't take offense, "She only cares… Heck, if I cared half as much as she did, I would tell you maybe you ought to take it easy too!"

That had to make Sasuke grin, "Maybe it's a good thing you care so little for me then…"

The blonde's face became puckered as he turned back around, "Maybe… But be nice to her, kay? We've all been through a lot so just chill out!"

"Naruto –" It was a good way to get the kid to shut up anyways, "You're one of the ones I want to fight the most…"

There was silence after that…

??

"Hey… Um…" He shifted, a little uncomfortably, his mood declined impressively for as hyper-active he usually was. "Sakura told me flowers… But, I felt a little weird getting those for her, so I brought in a picture of us…"

Kakashi looked amused by his three students, one hand on each of the boy's heads, whether out of affection, or to try and get them to stop thrashing to fight, as they both glared at each other. There was a lot of fake tension – who would end up looking better in the picture, as their hands were up for a high five. Sakura stood, hyper, but beautiful in the front, oblivious to the miniature photo war behind her.

"Sasuke! You just have to wake up soon!" Tears formed on the rim of Naruto's azure eyes, as he looked down at his friend, "You just have to…" He turned away, and knew he should leave before anyone caught him there.

He stood, and shoved his hands into his pockets, turning with one last look at his best friend he worried so much about.

??

After more than a month of not seeing him, the first new skills Naruto saw of Sasuke were astonishing. He had disappeared, and no one knew what had happened to him. Fear engulfed Naruto to the extent of becoming quiet – a large contrast of his usual self. But Sasuke had left him that picture he had brought to the hospital…

He left it outside just to show the ninja that he was okay, and not to worry too much. And now, seeing him fight Gaara with chidori and his swifter speed, and better grip on the sharingan was phenomenal.

For the first time in what seemed like ever, Naruto was balancing on the bar, hands forming a cone around his mouth as he yelled, "GO SASUKE! KICK HIS BUTT INTO THE DIRT!"

Sasuke glanced up, seeing his friend also for the first time and smiling, more motivation swimming and gliding through his veins than before. He pushed himself further so he could win the fight. Naruto _had_ said he wanted to fight Sasuke.

??

"Hey…" Sasuke sat at Naruto's bedside this time. He was exhausted, and somewhat injured from his fight with the sand demon and a strong Shinobi both. That's what caused his relentless unconsciousness of the moment. "Wake up soon, Naruto… We haven't had any ramen for a while. You know it's not my favorite… But I'd be willing to treat you to as much as you'd like…" He shrugged and stood.

He also didn't want to get emotional. He felt the sting of tears verging, so he left his own picture, the same copy, but in a different frame, on the wooden stand, along with Sakura's flowers.

Perhaps to cheer the kid up, since he'd be out of a few missions, he would have to convince Sakura to go on a date with him. A chuckle escaped his lips, causing a flicker of movement from the blonde's hand. It went unnoticed as Sasuke left the room.

??

His feet pounded desperately on the dirt road. It would act as his guide. It was the guide to someone much like it, comparable a long time ago anyways… He had to warn Naruto. He had been running full speed for a long time, but he knew he could not give up. He had to protect Naruto from Itachi.

Sliding around a corner, blowing up a cloud of musty dirty, he sprinted into the town, and started his quest, asking for an old guy and a blonde ninja about his height and his age. Naruto could not be harmed by his brother – even though his brother was after him for something.

As he ran up the stairs to the last hotel room, he saw Naruto, confused and alone with Itachi and another strange, blue man. Shaking his head, he pulled Naruto back, and ominously growled at his brother.

"Itachi Uchiha…" He would have to take this battle alone, his fear for Naruto deflating as he knew he was safe. He wouldn't let this bastard to his best friend, "You'll fight me, not _him_!" It stunned Naruto too much for him to move his lips, let alone speak. Sasuke's brother? He was in denial.

??

Finally Tsunade could heal Sasuke. Naruto bounced up and down in the same spot, as he waited impatiently for the treatment to be over. Of course, he wasn't at one hundred percent, but he was a lot more worried about Sasuke.

"He'll have to sleep for a while…" She murmured, as Naruto screamed, just about ripping out his hair.

"Listen to what she says, hey Naruto?" Sasuke's voice was weak and unstable, but Naruto let out a sound of glee at even hearing it.

"Sasuke! You had me worried there buddy!" He grinned, and looked at his wrist, completely healed.

"He needs rest… _Go!"_ Tsunade barked, glaring at the blonde, "And so do you!"

The first question spit from Sasuke's mouth: "What happened?"

"A bit of a run in with a few people: not worst thing ever… But not the best…" She smiled lightly at the last of the Uchiha's, "he'll be fine. I'll let him come in and see you just as soon as I think you're ready for it. Please don't leave the hospital, you're in no condition. I hear stories about how you like to do that sometimes…"

Sasuke chuckled at the woman, and turned to his friend, "I want to know what happened, you jerk… Getting in trouble without me there to save your ass…" He shook his head, "I'll be fine in a few days…"

"Then I'll treat you to something other than ramen…" Naruto promised before being dragged out. Sasuke closed his eyes: his resting would be peaceful until he healed.

??

As Sasuke sat out in a tree, his release from the hospital not even hours ago, he waited patiently for his friend to come find him. They had gone at it, bickering back and forth almost like an old married couple. Sasuke wanted Naruto to train with him – the blonde was extremely torn, but in the end, caution for Sasuke's health won out, as he instructed him to stay in bed. Angered by Naruto's sudden growth of judgment, the ninja decided he needed time by himself.

A snapped twig or a rustled leaf weren't accidents. They were supposed to get his attention… Whipping around, he saw four ninja each of different sizes, and what he assumed were different abilities.

Their soul purpose was to deliver a personal request from Orochimaru: power by joining him. Power is what he wanted… It was to beat Itachi that had caused so much trouble for Naruto and himself, and not to mention so many others…

He reasoned with himself which would be the better option, and by the end of the fight… Sasuke knew exactly what he had to do.

"Tell your Orochimaru to find another… We're finished here…" He turned his back on them, and jumped back into his village, disappearing into the shadows, and making his way to the ramen shop, determined to win Naruto over with a bowl of barbeque pork ramen.

??

"I'm sorry…" Sasuke stood then, knowing someone was bound to be close.

He turned away from his best friend. He couldn't kill him – not after all of the rivalry and tender moments they had shared.

That was a different life, created in the depths of Sasuke's mind. It was a fairytale… Or rather, a reality built for two completely different people. Though one part of him still willed him to return to the broken body of his best friend, he refused. Through the soaking rain he jumped and slid. While Naruto had his moments, such as the dirt path… Sasuke was much more like rain.

It had its beauty so many times, and so many people admired it. But in the end, it did nothing but cause trouble. And in the end of everything, when the rays of light, along with it came hope entangled into the threads of gold, it disappeared with only a puddle for its memory. That was what Sasuke was… to everyone: but most importantly to Naruto. People were sad to see it go, wishing so many times over again for it to come back, but in the end when it got there, they were bitter about it.

He pressed on to become what he had always known he would be: an avenger… And nothing more…

??

**First posted Naruto fic… Though a oneshot isn't what I wanted to post first, I had inspiration and I had to do it **** Thanks for reading, I hope you guys enjoyed it! Reviews are much appreciated!**


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